Some years ago, this blog received a spate of complaints concerning the government in a small Northwest Alabama town. The police chief of this town was married to the city clerk, and many thought this was "illegal." We never knew what specific incident(s) triggered these sudden complaints, but we did investigate the policies of other areas.
Many stated that their official policy was not to allow anything that could be construed as nepotism. Others stated that while their towns/states had no official policy, they always avoided the appearance of evil.
Ah...the appearance of evil. It would seem that Florence mayor Andy Betterton failed to avoid that when he appointed the son of the city council president as a new department head.
Wasn't it only a few months ago that Betterton terminated the employment of a long time human resources officer for activating an employment application window for only ten minutes so that a late comer could apply? So this wasn't ethical, but appointing Dick Jordan's son to a well-paid position is?
Our mail box has been inundated with comments on this. Many simply state their unhappiness with this appointment, while others have offered actual info to check out. Rest assured, we will.
To be continued...
